Tag Archives: Anna

2019

Day 6: Ants and Cecropia trees

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Today was the busiest day at Las Cuevas so far. In the morning, we compared the plant diversity of a region disturbed by a hurricane a few years ago to an undisturbed area.

In the afternoon, we collected data to see if young Cecropia trees that are not yet colonized by ants have tougher leaves than those that are colonized by ants to avoid herbivory. Cecropia and Azteca ants form a symbiotic relationship where the plant gives the ants a home and carbohydrate source, and the ants protects the Cecropia.

Giant Red Winged grasshopper nymphs.

The most interesting Orthoptera I saw was a large group of grasshopper nymphs in the morning. They looked like they were piled on top of each over and formed a ball when I first saw them. I think they were Giant red winged grasshopper nymphs (Tropidacris cristata) because of the yellow aposematic markings on one of them. I also saw a lot of crickets at night, one of which looked like the White-kneed king cricket (Penalva flavocalceata).

White-kneed king cricket
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Day 9: AhhHhHhHhh!!

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today’s general agenda: travel to Glover’s Reef —> Test snorkeling —> scavenger hunt —> presentations! 

On a scale from 1-10 with 10 being “I’M fREaKinG oUT aHHHH,” I think today was definitely an 8. 

After three long hours on the boat, we arrived at Glover’s Reef Research Station either a shade tanner or burnt. We got to meet Kenneth, the station manager, Annett and Jamel, our cooks, and Herbert and Javier, our guides. We also had the greatest pleasure of meeting CLIVUS, the water-less, composting toilet. Because the station is predominantly powered by wind and solar power, we had to be extra mindful of energy we consume.

Dr. Solomon and Dr. Shore on the boat ride to Glover’s Reef

Now that we’re at Glover’s, I have shifted gears and am now the “sponge” expert. Without much delay, we got suited up in our snorkel gear to test our gear and explore a nearby patch reef. Everything seemed fine until my gear started to malfunction. My snorkel tube would randomly close, preventing me from breathing smoothly. I was surprised how easy things can spiral downwards. I accidentally drank saltwater and I could feel myself get progressively more dehydrated. Luckily, we got back to shore and fixed my gear. In situations like these, I realized just how important it is is to remain calm.

Later today, we got to explore some coral colonies in shallow water. Sadly, I did not see any sponges today, but it was definitely exciting seeing corals for the first time. Moving forward, I am hopeful that my snorkeling experience will improve and there will be more sponges!

I counted 22 Anna’s. Introducing buddy pair Anna and Brendan. PC: Dr. Solomon

Brendan Wong

Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve, Belize

5/22/2019

2019

Day 5: Collecting pitfall traps and more grasshoppers!

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Today we collected our vials from the pitfall traps that we set up yesterday. On our hike, we saw a Toucan and most excitingly, a Morelet’s Tree Frog! Once we grouped all the arthropods into different morphospecies and analyzed our data, we made a poster and presented it to Scott and Amanda.

Morelet’s tree frog

I saw a few more grasshopper nymphs which often form small groups which is why I see several on one leaf most of the time.

A grasshopper nymph. There is only one here, but there are often multiple grouped on one leaf.
A large grasshopper in the Acrididae family and maybe in the Schistocerca genus.

In the afternoon, I saw a grasshopper in the Acrididae family that at first reminded me of the Giant Red-Wing Grasshopper (Tropidacris cristata) because of its large size, and yellowish red hindwings. After looking more closely, I don’t think it is one because the shape of the pronotum, the plate like structure below the head, and the eye look different than the Giant Red-Wing Grasshoppers I have researched. Instead, I think it is in Schistocerca genus.

2019

Day 4: Pitfall Traps

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I didn’t wake up early enough for bird watching, so I slept in and had breakfast at 7 am. Then we all peed in vials to use for our research project. Because pee is a source of ammonium, it can be used in an experiment to determine if the rainforest floor or canopy is more nitrogen deficient. My pee is currently on a tree and underground under the tree, and hopefully it brings good results.

In the afternoon, we went to a cave opening which was huge. The cave was thought to be a Mayan Pilgrimage site where they perform ceremonies. I got to give my Orthoptera presentation inside the cave and we also saw one cave cricket which are in the Rhaphidophoridae family!

Cave cricket. I could not get a very good photo of it.
Katydid found on a night hike

Overall, I saw a lot of Orthoptera today including the first katydid I’ve seen. This katydid was green with white spots on the body and had red eyes. Even the antennae have white dots along them.

I saw a lot of little gray grasshopper nymphs on a leaf again today and several crickets from the Gryllidae family.

 

2019

Day 3: Setting up Camera Traps

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Today we set up our camera traps, cameras that are activated by movement, on two different trails. We were planning on using three trails, but because 4 of the camera traps were not working we had to change our plan. It was the first time we got to hike in the Chiquibul rain forest, so there was a lot of new things to see.

Grasshopper nymphs
Horse Lubber grasshopper nymph

While walking along the Monkey Tail Trail and 50-hectare trail, I saw many Orthoptera including crickets and grasshoppers. The most exciting sighting was a Horse Lubber Grasshopper nymph (Taeniopoda eques) which was found in the leaf litter. These grasshoppers have a shiny black body with bright yellow markings. There were also a lot of small grasshopper nymphs on the tops of leaves.

Grasshopper that might be in the Tetrigidae family.

In the afternoon, I saw a grasshopper that might be in the Tetrigidae family because of its pronotum that covers its entire abdomen. It was black with white and yellow speckles on the hind wings.

2019

Day 2: Caracol and Rio on Pools

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We left the Crystal Paradise Eco lodge this morning. Our first stop was Rio on Pools where I swam, slipped on rocks, and sat under a small waterfall. I think everyone nearly slipped and wiped out on the rocks a few times which is always fun.

Rio on Pools

Then we went to the Caracol Archaeological Preserve where we climbed on Mayan structures and learned about their culture. It was interesting to hear about how they built structures on top of other structures when the existing one became to sacred to live in. We also saw which are birds that have weaved nests that hang from trees.

This Maya structure was an administrative building, temple, and palace.

After the ruins, we finally made it to Las Cuevas Research Station where we will be staying for the next five days. After the rained stopped, we could see birds all around us in the canopy.

Cricket in the Gryllidae family

I personally did not see any Orthoptera today, but someone else saw one on the bathroom door and showed me a picture. I believe it is a cricket in the Gryllidae family based on its long antennae and long cerci. Cerci are paired appendages on the abdomen.

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Day 1: Arriving in Belize

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We arrived in Belize today by a direct flight from Houston to Belize City. It was an early morning to get to the airport in time for our flight, so I had a tiring and exciting day. Travel days are always weird because I start at home in a familiar place and hours later I am in a completely new environment. I have already seen many different plants and animals while eating lunch, riding in the van, and spending the evening at the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge.

The view from the dining area in the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge.

I did not see any Orthoptera today because most of the day was spent traveling and settling into the ecolodge. I did hear chirping and long trilling sounds in the evening which I think were crickets. Crickets and katydids can be heard at night, but I wasn’t able to identify a katydid call.

 

I saw an ant outside my room that Brendan is currently trying to identify.

There is a trail from the ecolodge to a river where I saw Leafcutter ants carrying purple flowers, and an Agouti, a large rodent. I might have been able to find some Orthoptera if I spent more time looking on the trail, but I was walking quickly to get to the river.

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Pre-departure Blog

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Tomorrow morning I leave for Belize, where I will spend a week at Las Cuevas Research Station to explore the tropical rainforest and a week at Glover’s Reef Research Station to explore the coral reef. Even though I started getting everything I need around a month ago I still had to run to the store for the last item today. Now I finally feel like everything is reading to go for my time in Belize.

I have spent many hours researching different aspects of Belize to prepare for my trip including Orthoptera, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Anemones, and the geological and biogeographic history. I will hopefully be able to share this knowledge with others and use it as a base to learn more while I am there. It would be extremely exciting to have learned about something sitting at my desk at Rice and then be able to see it in real life. I am worried that I have missed some important Orthoptera species during my research and will not be able to identify the common species that I find in Belize, but even identifying one species will be exciting. 

My previous experiences in the tropics were family vacations to Panama and Costa Rica. These trips were not dedicated to researching and learning about my surroundings like I expect this trip will be. I am particularly excited and nervous for the week at Glover’s Reef Research Station. I am excited because it will be a completely new experience. I have snorkeled when I was younger, but never paid close attention to what I was seeing. I am nervous because I have never snorkeled much below the surface and sometimes have trouble equalizing the pressure in my ears. I am sure I will have plenty of practice throughout the week, so hopefully I’ll feel comfortable by the end.

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I’m Not Going To Make a Belize/Believe Pun

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Going to miss this class and these people!

Wow! This was an amazing experience! I am so grateful I was fortunate enough to take this class and am so happy I chose to! To anyone considering taking it, do it! I learned more in this class than in a semester-long one because this is experiential learning, which at least for me, helps me learn and enjoy it so much more.

I learned a lot about rainforest and coral reef ecosystems.  They are both so diverse and can host such a large range of creatures.  Before, I may have only thought about rainforests as trees or coral reefs as hard corals.  Now, I think of them as the entire flora and fauna body that thrives from its structures.  A lot of their similarities in hosting many trophic webs stems from the fact that they are so diverse.  I think it was easier to notice how diverse the coral reefs were because you could see better all the different creatures.  The rainforest is more dense and larger animals can hide easier, so it was harder to notice this.  Also, both ecosystems are threatened by global warming, pollution, human interactions, or other interferences.  This was more noticeable in the coral reefs as well because you could see all the dead corals and compare to the non-protected site, while you could not see that as easily in the rainforest.

This course was so much better than my expectation.  I was nervous that I may not fully understand everything since I have not taken any other EBIO courses, but it easily laid out how to conduct field research and taught me so much about the ecosystems in play. My favorite part of the course was the comparison of the marine protected area site and the not marine protected area site because it was interesting to see the differences.  I also loved looking for crustaceans and identifying them because they are easier to see up close than birds. OH AND SHARKS. My least favorite part was just how exhausted I was at the end of the day and probably all the bugs, but that is to be expected and is outweighed by all the positives.

The three most important things I learned in this course are how to design my own question and analyze my data, different methods of research (quadrant/transact, camera traps, pitfall traps), and how to make meaningful observations.  I’ve taken labs before (biochemistry labs) but this class really helped me design a significant question and learn how to follow through on it all the way to a poster.  I also had no idea how to do any EBIO methods until this class and it was an interesting contrast to all my normal lab work.  Finally, using my field notebook and taxon cards helped me learn to keep my eyes open and observe what is around me because even small details matter.

The most surprising part of this class for me was how close I became with everyone else on the trip and how much fun we could all have while still learning! TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!

Acknowledgments: Dory, SFS, Turez

 

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Day 15- Bye-lize

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Bye Belize, bye cold showers, bye scarlet macaws, bye ticks, bye sand flies, bye erratic fear of bot flies, bye random sing along sessions, bye 10 mile hikes, bye rice and beans, bye Turez, bye SFS, bye Dory (again), bye beautiful ocean, bye pseudodiploria, bye ants, bye Apache, bye field notebooks, bye lectures, bye crabs, bye birds, bye trash crab, bye squishy, bye malfunctioning cameras, bye bug bite scars, bye stinky smell, bye unwashed clothes, bye Clivus, bye no internet, bye sharks, and bye EBIO 319.

Well, I am leaving Belize currently, on the plane right now, and that has not hit me yet.  We started traveling from Las Cuevas to the airport early and made a pit stop for a gift shop.  I don’t think any item can describe how I feel for this class.  It has been great, but I guess I’ll reflect on that in my post class blog (coming soon).

This morning I finally woke up again for birding and I saw a scarlet macaw and some plumbeous kites.  However, I was not super focused on the birding.  I just sipped my coffee and talked to everyone because I won’t be waking up with all these people tomorrow.  That’s super weird. I don’t like that.

Leaving Las Cuevas and these people 🙁

Well, I guess I have to come back to normal life at some point :/

On a happier note, still no ticks or chiggers!!!!!! I will have to thoroughly check when I get home, but I think I escaped it.  To future TFBs, IT IS POSSIBLE!